Tokyo equities markets were down on Tuesday on profit taking from companies whose stocks had risen in recent days after they reported rises in quarterly earnings.

Domestic stocks were affected by concerns that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s plan to privatize Japan’s post office could be rejected when the upper house of parliament votes on the issue on Friday. Mr. Koizumi has said that he will call elections if the legislation is not approved.

Oil and coal was one of the few sectors to post positive results on the day, with the sector rising 2.3 percent overall. AOC gained 5.6 percent to ¥1,891.

Chip makers and related companies were also up, on data from the US Semiconductor Industry Association that showed strong first half sales and predicted even better results for the rest of the year. Advantest gained 1.7 percent to ¥9,160, while Tokyo Electron was up 1.8 percent to ¥6,250.

Audio equipment manufacturer Kenwood lost 1 percent to ¥201 after strong advances on Monday due to a positive quarterly report. Komatsu, the construction machinery manufacturer, also was a target for profit-taking, declining by 4.3 percent to ¥1,078 after big gains last week.